Means for transmitting oscillatory motion



Sept 25, 1945- P. E. GELDHOF ET AL 2,385,523

' MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING OSCILLATORY MOTION Filed June 24', 1945 2Sheets-Sheet 1 R M a P'rs [120,480 6154 DHO/T VEGA/0N d H oasrse.

Sept. 25, 1945. P. E. GELDHOF EI'AL v MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING OSGILLATORY MOTION Filed June 24, 1943 2 SheetsSheet 2.

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Patented sept. 25, 1945 a aasaezs OFFICE MEANSIOR TRANSMITTINGoscm'roar' MorroN retu- Eduard Geisha: and Vernon J. Wooster, St.Joseph, Mich, assignors to Nineteen Hundred Corporation, St. Joseph,Mich., a corporation of New York Application June 24,1943, Serial No.492,102

Claims. (or. 68-13:) The present invention relates to apparatus toritransmitting oscillatory motion from a power source to a member to bedriven. More particularly, the invention is concerned with the structureand mode of operation of a novel form of transmission embodyingelectrically operated means for engaging and disengaging thereciprocating drive means of said transmission from the member to bedriven. i

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel oscillatorydrive mechanism.

It is=a further-object of the present invention to provide anoscillatory drive mechanism for actu- ,ating a member to be drivenassociated there- :vith with a minimum of lost motion in its operaion.'

It is a still further object or the present inven- 4 tion to provide anoscillatory drive mechanism,

such, for'example, as that employed in" washing machines or the like foractuating the agitator mechanism. I

The present invention contemplates, among other things, a method ofproducing oscillatory motion substantially free from dwell or lostmotion which frequently occurs in conventional operations as thereciprocating member employed in producing such oscillatory motionapproaches the extremities of its stroke. The present method not onlyvirtually eliminates such lost motion or dwell period but also obviatesthe operational shocks which customarily accompany these operations.

The'method of the present invention involves I the steps of producing arapid motion throughoutthe major portion of each stroke of therecippresent invention there is provided an oscillatory drive mechanismwhich comprises a reciprocating member, a member to be driven, andelectrically operated coupling means associated with said reciprocatingmember for disengageably connecting said reciprocating member and saidmember to be driven. 1

'The invention further contemplates transmission means which comprises adrive member,a member to be driven, reciprocating means actuated by saiddrive member, coupling means for connecting said reciprocating means andsaid member to be driven, and slidable means associated with saidreciprocating means for selective engagement with and disengagement fromsaid coupling means.

In accordance with other features of the present invention, there isprovided in a washing machine which includes a tub, an agitator in saidtub, and a power source, means for actuating the agitator from the powersource comprising a drive member operated from said power source,

rocating member, slowing up the rate of movement producedas thereciprocating member approaches one extremity of the stroke so astogradually merge from one direction of motion It is a further objectorthe present invention to start or stop the operational steps involved inI the production of an oscillatory motion which is free from dwell andoperational shocks at any. desired oint in-the cycle and manuallycontrollin'g such starting or stopping as the case maybe, by causing theflow of force to instantly effect the operation. f

In accordance with the general ieatures'oi the reciprocating meansactuated by said drive member, coupling means for connecting saidreciproeating meanswith said agitator, and electrically operated meansassociated with said reciprocating means for selective engagement withand disengagement irom said coupling means.

Still other features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description of the drawings illustrating oneembodiment of the invention in which:

Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional eleva-' tion of a typical formof apparatus in which the oscillatory drive mechanism of the presentinvention is particularly advantageously employed;

Figure 2 represents a horizontal section through the upper portion orthe oscillatory drive, mechanism of Figure 1 showing the arrangement ofthe parts therein; and

Figure 3 is an elevation with parts broken away and in sectionillustrating the operating relation of the elements of the oscillatorydrive mechanism.

One embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 1 as beingadapted to employment in a washing machine in which a tub 5 is providedwhich issupported by a suitable base or casing structure (not shown).Extending vertically through an opening in the center of the base of tubI is a generally cylindrical post 8 which is secured to the base of thetub 5 as by means'of a'ring member I threaded on the base thereof,suitable gaskets 8 being provided above and below thebase oi tub 5 andcooperating with a washer 8 to prevent leakage through th openingtherein. A shaft l which is disposed within said cylindrical post 8 andextends through the upper end thereof is iournalied in a sleeve II inthe upper end of said post 8 and a washer member l2 recessed in theupper end thereof.

Mounted upon the uppermost end of shaft I8 is an agitator member 2 Iwhich is secured thereto as by means of the cap screw l8 which isthreaded into the uppermost end of the shaft l0. An oscillatory drivemechanism, which may take theform of the transmission i4, is .supportedfrom the underside of the tub 8 and is enclosed in a suitable casingwhich may advantageously be made up of an upper casting member l8 and alower stamping portion l8 held together by a plurality of clips 4disposed at spaced intervals therearound. The post 8 is threaded intothe upper end of a boss II' extending upwardly from the top of thecasting II and abutting against the.

washer 8. The lower end of the shaft i8 which extends into thetransmission I4 is journalled,

in thesleeve bearing l8 inserted in the internal boss portion IQ of theboss I! of casting IS. A washer, is recessed in the uppermost end ofsaid boss is which also supports an inverted substantially cup-shapedmember which cooperates transmission .pulley 28 is mounted upon a stubshaft 28 journalled in a sleeve bearing 28 and extending through thebossportion 21 of casting I 8. On the lowermost end of said shaft 28 ismounted a gear 88 which meshes with a drive gear 8i supported from theupper casting I! of the transmission 14 as by means of a stub shaft 82mounted in the boss 88 on said casting I8. A gear 34 mounted on thelower end of a stub shaft 88 which extends upwardly through the externalboss 38 on the casting ill of transmission i4 operates to drive throughthe connecting member 81 a wringer unit (not shown) or other associatedapparatus which may be mounted upon the vertically extending column 88secured to the upper end of boss 88. 8

An arm 42 having one end thereof pivoted about a pin 4\ eccentricallydisposed with respect to the stul. shaft 82 supporting the driving gear8| is secured to said pin 48 by means of the machine screw 44. Adjacentthe right-hand end of the arm 42'(a sseen in the drawings) and on theupper side thereof is mounted a pin 48 one end of which extends throughan aperture in said assaeas link Ii, it is free to rotate about pin 48as the arm 42 is reciprocated.

I For the purpose of locking said gear 48 in fixed relation with respectto the pin 48 on the reciprocating arm 42 when it is desired to actuatearm 58 of th bell crank lever 56. Arm 58 of hell.

crank lever 88 is connected to a projecting lug 88 on dog 58 by means ofthe member and pins 6! and 82., The downwardly extending arm 88 of bellcrank lever 58 passes through an opening 84 in reciprocating arm 42 andis connected with n a plunger 85 of a solenoid 68 by means of the pin81. The solenoid G8 is preferably mounted upon the under side ofreciprocating arm 42 as by means of the bolts 88 and is provided withelectricalconnections 68 and 10 which are connected to posts II and 12mounted upon the lower portion l8 of the casing of transmission I4.

arm 42 and is threaded-so as to be secured to said arm 42 as by means ofa nut '48 and a washer 41. A gear 48 is freely rotatably mounted 'upon'said link on with respect to its mountings as the The posts II and I2are connected into an elec- ;trica1 circuitwhich energizes the motor 28and 80 communicates with a suitable push-button or switch (not shown)which serves to close the electrical circuit to the solenoid 88 when itis desired to cause the dog 88 to engage the freely rotatably mountedgear 4.8.

In the operation of the washing machine illus- I Ling gear ll will causethe gear 84, shaft 88 and connecting member 81 to be rotated and, in addition, will cause the arm 42 by reason of its eccentric connection tosaid driving gear 8| to be reciprocated along a path which correspondssubstantially to the longitudinal axis of the transmission I 4.

At the beginning of operation,

occupy the position illustrated in the dotted lines in Figure 3 of thedrawings. Byvirtueof this disposition of the bell crank lever 88, thedog 88 slidably disposed in the mounting 84 wi l, therefore, occupy theposition indicated in dot-. ted lines in Figure-2 of the drawings. Thegear 48 will be free to rotate about the pin 48 as the reciprocating arm42 is reciprocated by reason of its eccentric mounting upon the drivinggear 8|. While the gear 48 is engaged with gear 48 mounted upon theagitator shaft III by reason oi the link II it willnot, since it is freeto rotate about the pin 48, operate the shaft III. A

At the desired time, the operator may by press-- ing a'button or closinga switch (not shown) provided thereforyas the case may be, energize thesolenoid 88 thus cousins the plunger 84 thereof to move toward the leftas seen in Figure 3101 the drawings. This movement of plunger 84 arm 42is reciprocated. Since the freely rotatmoves the bell crank arm 88 intnthe position shown in full lines in Figures. The bell crank lever"causes the dog 48, to move instantly tothe solenoid as 'isdeenergizedand the bell crank lever will ward the right as seenin full .lines inFigures ,2 and 3 .of the drawings so as to engage one ormore of theteeth'of the gear, 48. Thereafter, the gear 48 is held against rotationwith respect to the pin and as the arm 42 is reciprocated,

an oscillating motion will be transmitted to the shaft l and agitator 21through the engagement of gear 48 with gear 49 mounted upon said shaftl0.

When it is desired to halt the operation of the agitator 2 I theoperator merely operates the button or switch cutting th electricalcircuit conasses of said second toothed member and for selecnected tothe solenoid 66 thereby .de-energizing it.

yI'he spring 51a urges the arm ,58 of bell crank lever5'6 upwardlycausing the plunger '65 thereof to move to the right as seen in Figure 3whereby the partsof the apparatus will again assume the positions shownin dotted lines'and instantly disengaging the dog 53 from gear 48. Thegear 48 will once again befree to rotate about the pin 45 and will nolonger drive the gear 49, thereby I stopping the oscillatory movement ofshaft III I and agitator 2|.

1 tinuous oscillatory The apparatus of the present invention isparticularly advantageous in that it provides a conmovement of thedriven member with virtually no lost motion. This is brought about bythe fact that as th reciprocating arm 42 approaches the extremepositions of its reciprocatory movement, it moves only slightly but, inthis interval, the end of said arm on which gear 48 i 'held againstrotation pivots about the axis of shaft l0 and causes the gear 49 onsaid shaft, with which it is engaged, to rotate-slowly until the. arm,begins its'reverse stroke. Other forms of connections or couplingmembers employed between the reciprocating arm and the driven membercause a distinct 'dwell or period of lost motion in the driven member asthe reciprocating arm approaches and .passes through the extremities ofits reciprocating cycle. Shocks which frequently accompany such abruptchanges of direction are also substantially completely eliminated.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing from the principlesof this invention and it is, therefore, not

the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise thannecessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention: 1. In a washingmachine including a tub, an

agitatorin said tub and a power source,

means for actuating said agitator from said power source comprising adrive member operated from said power source, reciprocating meansactuated by said drive -member, means freely rotatably mounted on saidreciprocating means for driving the agitator, and slidable as 3 saidagitator, a second toothed member freely rotatably mounted on thereciprocating member for driving the toothed'member for actuating theagitator means slidably mounted on said reciprocating means for movementin a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation tiveengagement with said rotatably mounted toothed member to hold the samein fixed relation to said reciprocating means to .drive said agitatorand disengagement from said rotatably mounted toothed member to stopsaid agitator,"

and electrical control means for operating said slidably mounted means.

3. In a washing machine including a tub, an agitator in said tub and apower source, transmission means for controlling the operation of saidagitator from said power source comprising a drive member operated fromsaid power source,

, ment with said rotatably mounted gear to hold the same in fixedrelation to said reciprocating means to drive said agitator anddisengagement from said rotatably mounted gear to stop'said agitator.

4. An oscillatorydrive mechanism comprising a drive member, a member tobe driven, recipromeans associated with said reciprocating means andmovable in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of movement ofsaid. reciprocating means and for selective engagement with saidrotatably mounted means to hold the same in fixed relation to saidreciprocating means to drive said agitator and disengagement from saidro- I tatably mounted means to stop said agitator.

2. In a washing machine including a tub, an agitator in ,said tub and apower source, transmission means for-controlling the operation of saidag-itator from .said power ,source compriscating means secured to saiddrive member, coupling means for connecting said reciprocating means andsaid member to be driven,'slidable means associated with saidreciprocating means for selectively connecting said reciprocating meansin driving relation with said coupling means. v

5. -An oscillatory drive mechanism comprising a drive member, a memberto be driven, reciprocating means secured to said drive'member, meansfreely rotatably mounted on said reciproeating means for driving themember to be driven, means slidable with respect to said reciprocatingmeans for selective engagement with said' rotatably mounted means tohold the same in fixed relation to said reciprocating means to drivesaid member to be driven and disengagement from said rotatablymountedmeans to stop said member to be driven, and control'means foractuating said slidable means.

6. Ari-oscillatory drive mechanism comprisin a drive member, a member tobe driven, reciprocating means secured to said drive member, a toothedmember freely rotatably mounted on the reciprocating means forengagement with the member to be driven, and means slidable with respectto said reciprocating means for selective engagement with anddisengagement from the toothed member.

'7. An oscillatory drive mechanism comprising a power source,reciprocating means actuated by said power source, a member to bedriven, coupling means for connecting said'reciprocating means and saidmember to be-driven, slidable means associated with said reciprocatingmeans' for selective engagement with and disengagement from saidcoupling means, and electrical control means for actuating said slidablemeans.

ing a drive member operated from said power drive member, a toothedmember for actuating source, reciprocating means actuated by said" -8.An oscillatory drive mechanism comprising a power source, reciprocatingmeans actuated y by said power-sourca a gear freely rotatably contactingsaid freely rotatably mounted gear so as to prevent its rotation, andmeans associated with said reciprocating means for selectively engagingsaid contacting means from said freely rotatably mounted gear.

9. In a washing machine including "a tub, an agitator in said tub, and apower source, means for actuating said agitator from said power sourcecomprising a drive member operated from said power source, reciprocatingmeans actuated by said drive member, a gear rotatably mounted on saidreciprocating means adjacent the free end thereof, a shaft supportingsaid agitator, a gear secured to said shaft, 9. link member pivotallyconnected to said shaft and the free end of said reciprocating means formaintaining the rotatably mounted gear and the agitator gear inengagement, slidably shiftable means for engaging the rotatably mountedgear to prevent its rotation and to cause the agitator shaft to beoscillated by saidreci rocating means, and electrical control means forengaging and disengaging said shiftable' means with respect to saidrotatably mounted gear.

10. An oscillatory drive mechanism comprising a reciprocating member, amember to be". driven, means for coupling said member to bedriven andsaid reciprocating member, said coue'i-z plingmeans including drivingmeans freely-rotatably mounted upon said reciprocating mem-,

ber, slidable means associated with said reciprocatingmember forselectivelyengaging said driving means to prevent its rotation and totrans.- mit oscillatory motion to said member to be

